Behavior of Alpha grass soda lignin was investigated for the preparation of novolak molding powders. Thermal analysis of the different investigated formulations indicated Thai molding powders prepared from Alpha grass soda lignin were more resistant to thermal degradation compared to a standard formulation prepared from wood flour. Limiting oxygen index determined for the different composites confirmed the higher thermal stability of Alpha grass soda lignin composites. Mechanical properties tested either from Shore hardness tests or from impact strength measure-menis revealed a slight decrease of mechanical properties for composites prepared from Alpha grass soda lignin. All these results showed the possibility to replace imported wood flours by locally available Alpha grass soda lignin to obtain phenolic composites with quite similar properties. (c) 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.